See Inside the 2024 amfAR Cannes Gala—Cher! Demi Moore! And More Party Snaps from the Night
She had already turned heads many times over on the Cannes Film Festival’s mile-long red carpet earlier in the week, and yet, once again, when Demi Moore swanned down the promenade of the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc last night donning a white silk gown by Loewe, a stunned silence fell over the crowd of partygoers out in full force for this year’s amfAR Gala Cannes.
As the organization’s largest fundraising effort in its globetrotting schedule, the gala is nothing short of splashy. It takes over all corners of the revered seaside hideaway with just 111 rooms, though the celebration attracts 872 well-heeled attendees each year. The construction of the hulking, neon marquee-covered tent—in which the dinner, runway show, auction, and concert take place—is completed during the off-season so as not to disturb guests with the noise. The grounds are converted into a veritable Fort Knox, too, with no less than seven security checkpoints, many a guard dog, and even two trained guard falcons to scare off seagulls hoping to enjoy a caviar canapé or to take down any drones spying on the scene.
“Something of this magnitude takes a village,” Philippe Perd, General Manager of the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, told Vogue. “It really is the perfect combination of generous donors, incredible entertainment, and, of course, our talented staff here at the hotel. It’s a fine-tuned machine, but it gets bigger every year.”
From an aerial view, one might see the train traffic jams of long gowns parading by each other along the hotel’s famed promenade and no shortage of glass-clinking and air-kissing. What a whirring drone would not capture was the infectious merrymaking that cements this gala as a standout social occasion. Guests had made their way to Cap d’Antibes from all corners of the world, and they were all determined to have a good time for a great cause that, since its inception, has raised over $400 million for HIV/AIDs research and treatment.
“I’m wowed at the level of intelligence it takes to come up with the idea to use this kind of glitz and glamour that the entire world has been societally conditioned to be attracted to as a means to create progress and make change,” Paris Jackson told us as Diane Kruger, Colman Domingo, and Kelly Rowland were greeted by donors and fans alike. “Everyone is just so attracted to this kind of thing, so using it for change is genius.”
With a light tap on the shoulder from a tuxedoed server, guests were harkened to dinner in the tent, where tables burst to life with floral centerpieces replete with red and white roses, and place settings were accessorized with a white linen napkin embroidered simply with the number “30;” an homage to amfAR’s 30th year raising funds in Cannes.
Dinner, a duo of stuffed zucchini flowers and short rib in Parmesan foam came with the side of a runway show in which legendary runway fixtures like Karolina Kurkova, Lindsey Wixson, Sasha Pivovarova, and Carmen Kass modeled 28 fairy tale-inspired looks from the likes of John Galliano for Maison Margiela channeling Cinderella, a fanciful and slightly fetishistic Alice in Wonderland by Richard Quinn, Daniel Rose Berry’s high-humor Schiaparelli iteration of Puss in Boots, and many, many more. The full lot of 28 ensembles would later sell for €500,000 to Christian Levitt in an auction led by auctioneer Simon de Pury and Heidi Klum. “If I had your money and I was standing in front of Heidi Klum, I would go on and on and on,” de Pury jabbed to the bidder.
Notably, toward the end of the night’s happenings is the evening’s auction, where frivolous purchases for a good cause are made. It s cleverly positioned to encourage devil-may-care bidding after plenty of Champagne flutes and glasses of Rumor Rosé wine have been passed around. This year, the lots on offer included far-flung getaways to Antarctica and a pair of Chopard diamond earrings worn by Demi Moore earlier this year to the Vanity Fair Oscars party and modeled by model Maria Borges. Though the most feverish bidding unfolded during the artworks, which read like a blue chip wishlist ranging from Damien Hirst to Alexander Calder to Andy Warhol, whose 1964 lithograph of Elizabeth Taylor, simply entitled “Liz,” drew the most buzz from the room and sold for €350,000.
As amfAR’s founding chairman, Taylor’s spirit was honored many times throughout the evening. “In 1997, Elizbeth Taylor called me because she couldn’t make it last minute, and let me tell you, those are some big shoes to fill; almost impossible,” Demi Moore recalled on the stage of her first amfAR Cannes hosting experience. “I personally want to dedicate this night to her tireless effort, and I truly wish she could see how far amfAR has come.”
The evening’s entertainment continued with a first performance of “Hold My Hand” by Jess Glynne and a second by Nick Jonas, who appropriately closed his set with the tune “Jealous,” an unexpectedly fitting homage to those who had been outbid moments earlier, before the stage was then ceded to the one-and-only Cher, who delighted guests with three of her hits, changing outfits (and wigs) in between and closing on a high note with “Believe.”
The crowd then teetered over to the hotel’s cliffside pool, where Diplo spun for the crowded dance floor as truffle-topped pizzas and ice creams of all flavors were served up to send us on our merry way. And while some of the more prudent guests headed for their beds, the seasoned party professionals headed to Domaine Dilecta. As in previous years, the maison had been reimagined from vacation villa to Risky Business house party where nightlife stalwart Richie Akiva presided over the madness alongside his co-host Future and DJ Ruckus as the sun rose over the coastline.
- Mike Marsland1/39
Alexander Edward and Cher
- Ryan Emberley/amfAR/Getty Images2/39
